Water touches every aspect of human life, sometimes in unexpected ways, says Darin Jensen, a cartographer at the University of California and founder of a nonprofit group called Guerrilla Cartography.

The group’s latest project, Water: An Atlas, takes an unconventional look at the importance of water through more than 80 maps, including one showing the sites where water has played a role in the conflict with ISIS (included in the gallery above).

The maps in the atlas come from artists, activists, academics, and other mapmakers. Like the group’s first atlas, which focused on food issues, it was a crowdsourced effort. Organizers picked the theme and solicited contributions.

Residents of Hawaii have survived several major deluges this year. And scientists say a warming climate may make such record-breakers ever more common.

One year ago, Hurricane Harvey shattered the U.S. record for most rain to come down in a single storm. Last month, another hurricane dropped record rains, this time on Hawaii. Named Lane, its measured tally would seem to be the highest ever for this island state, and second nationally only to what Harvey unleashed on Texas.

The previous record for a tropical cyclone in Hawaii was measured at Kanalohuluhulu Ranger Station. That was during Hurricane Hiki in 1950.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu has now confirmed that Lane dropped 132.13 centimeters (52.02 inches) of rain between August 22 and 26. That total comes from an official government rain gauge on the Big Island (named Hawaii). “The previous record was 132.08 centimeters (52.00 inches),” the NWS reported in an August 27 statement. This, it concluded, shows that “Hurricane Lane has broken the Hawaii tropical cyclone storm-total rainfall record.”

However, NWS pointed out, this record will stand only “pending verification.” Confirming the feat requires a special probe. A meteorologist at the NWS forecast office said that could take months.

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October: (LK Comment: Found this excellent USG website recently which provides links to details about the effects of climate change in the Pacific and elsewhere. This portion focuses on freshwater issues)

The ability of people, plants, and wildlife to thrive on Pacific islands is tied to the amount of precipitation each island receives. On time scales from months to decades, climate variability and change affect precipitation patterns across the region. On even the smallest islands, freshwater is necessary to support plants, animals, and any human inhabitants. On developed islands, natural sources of water must also support agriculture, industry, and tourism. Relatively high demand for these uses means that water supply is constrained and may become more limited as climate changes.

(Kobayashi comment: This article in Nature is about a year old, but is especially key for freshwater planning for islands in the South Pacific and elsewhere.)

Scott and Lindsey: May 2016

The millions of people—not to mention other animals and plants—living on islands already face unique challenges due to global warming. As seas rise and temperatures climb, islanders may have fewer choices for relocating people, infrastructure, or agriculture than larger countries do. Among the most serious public health and ecological threats facing islands may be freshwater stress. Nearly three-quarters of the islands examined in a recent study were projected to experience much drier conditions by 2050, with the situation worsening by 2090.

The bubble map at top right shows projected changes in freshwater stress by 2090 for 80 island groups around the world. Brown indicates increased freshwater stress, and green indicates decreased stress. The larger the dot, the larger the current population.

The bottom map shows small island groups that may be especially vulnerable by the end of the century due to a combination of drying and expected population growth. (Only the 22 island groups that had their own entry in the World Bank’s nation-specific population database were included in the second analysis.) The size of the dots on this map was determined by multiplying the projected change in freshwater stress in 2090 by the estimated population growth by 2050 (the farthest time horizon available for these islands).

Kris Karnauskas, the lead scientist on the research, explains that when he and his colleagues considered future rainfall changes alone, the models predicted that roughly 50% of small islands would get drier in a warming climate. But when it comes to freshwater stress, rainfall is only half the story. The other half is evaporation, and estimating evaporation from the land surfaces of small islands is something most global climate models—called GCMs, for short—don’t do.

(Honolulu, HI) Land-use practices on tropical oceanic islands can have large impacts on reef ecosystems, even in the absence of rivers and streams. Land-based pollutants, such as fertilizers and chemicals in wastewater, infiltrate into the groundwaters beneath land and eventually exit into nearshore ecosystems as submarine groundwater discharge (SGD)—seeping into the coastal zone beneath the ocean’s surface. In a study published recently in PLOS ONE, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM) scientists used a combination of field experiments and chemical analysis of water and algae to show that the quality of coastal groundwater plays a major role in determining the health of nearshore ecosystems in Hawai‘i.

Various sources of pollution, such as agriculture or sewage treatment facilities, have identifiable chemical signatures, particularly the isotopes of nitrogen in the nutrients they contain. This study assessed groundwater quality, coastal water quality, and reef health across six different bays on Maui with various potential sources of pollution. By comparing the nitrogen isotope signature of algae tissues and potential pollution, the research group traced nutrients in the algae back to their land-based sources.

This study is the first to show the extent of the impact of wastewater injection wells at Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility, Maui’s highest-volume sewage treatment plant, on Kahului Bay. In addition to relatively high nutrient levels in marine surface waters in Kahului Bay, shallow areas were almost entirely dominated by a thick fleshy mat of colonial zoanthids, a phenomenon not reported anywhere else in the state. A concurrent companion study to this work, led by James Bishop at the UHM Department of Geology and Geophysics, found that water collected from beach sands, which represents coastal groundwater, next to the Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility contained up to 75 percent treated wastewater—highlighting the impact of wastewater in this area.

Strained by drought in recent years, California desperately needs more resilient water supplies. An affordable solution that provides a wide range of benefits is within reach, according to a new Stanford study.

Published in San Francisco Estuary & Watershed, the study reveals the costs and benefits of using groundwater recharge and storage across the state. This process, known as “managed aquifer recharge,” or MAR, can incorporate co-benefits such as flood control, improved water quality and wetland habitat protection. The study found the median cost of MAR projects is $410 per acre-foot (the amount of water required to cover an acre of level land at a depth of 1 foot) per year. By comparison, the median cost of surface water projects is five times more expensive — $2,100 per acre-foot.

“We find that MAR is an effective and affordable way to balance local groundwater decisions with regional and statewide management,” said study co-author Debra Perrone, a postdoctoral scholar with Stanford’s Water in the West program.

Many local communities rely on statewide infrastructure to supplement their water supply. This water is costly and limited in supply, raising a need for cost-effective local storage options.

Managed aquifer recharge allows for local water storage, access and management to a much greater extent than large surface water reservoirs, which are often managed by state and federal entities. Although excess surface water can be limited in some regions of California, treated wastewater and urban stormwater offer sources for MAR that aren’t fully utilized by centralized surface water storage infrastructure.

MAR is particularly well suited to more populous and developed areas that can take advantage of large quantities of treated wastewater and stormwater runoff collected by extensive infrastructure for use in recharge. In more rural areas, MAR using excess surface water can still play an important role in replenishing groundwater basins and guarding against dry times.

“Every year, California lets 1 million acre-feet of treated wastewater flow to the ocean,” said co-author Melissa Rohde, previously a researcher with Water in the West. “Our research shows it would cost the state about $870 million to build the necessary MAR facilities to recover and store this water. That’s not a lot of money compared to the cost and energy required to transport water from large surface water projects or to desalinate ocean water.”

A water enigma

Groundwater supplies up to 60 percent of California’s water supply during dry years. Despite its crucial role in slaking the Golden State’s thirst, groundwater went largely unregulated until the 2014 passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Therefore, statewide data on groundwater management generally and managed aquifer recharge projects specifically has been sparse or proprietary, generally not shared publicly.

This lack of information was highlighted with the 2015 passage of California’s largest-ever water-related proposition — the $7.5 billion Proposition 1. The bond promises almost $3 billion for water storage projects. Without data on relative costs and benefits, state and local water managers are hard pressed to make informed decisions on MAR projects.

In addition to new funding opportunities, the 2014 law puts the burden on local agencies for sustainably managing groundwater. So, local communities have more reason than ever to bank water sustainably. Managed aquifer recharge allows agencies to do that in ways tailored to a community’s resources.

Perrone and Rohde set out to identify costs and benefits of MAR projects around the state by mining applications for general obligation bonds from ballot propositions. In these publicly available forms, the researchers identified proposed economic costs and anticipated MAR project benefits. Then, they surveyed the projects’ managers to compare initial estimates with actual costs, and to identify advantages and limitations.

Looking to the future

As a changing climate, growing population and other factors put increasing pressures on water supplies, California’s need for long-term resilience will only intensify, the study noted. Conservation will only go so far. Flexible water storage options that can address changing conditions are essential. Therefore, it is likely that more water agencies will adopt MAR as a local management tool.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University. The original item was written by Rob Jordan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

You won’t find any argument among scientists, policy makers and the general public that fresh water is an extremely important natural resource.

I would argue that clean water is more important than oil, right up there next to clean air. And in Hawaii, we are especially blessed with some of the best water in the world.

Barry Usagawa, the administrator of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s Water Resource Program, told me, “Oahu’s drinking water quality is one of the best in the nation. Our fresh water comes from basal groundwater that is naturally purified, has high clarity and low mineral content, (is) very stable and needs very little treatment. Oahu’s drinking water is as nature provides it to us.”

Our mauka forests and volcanic soil are well suited as a filtration system for rainwater, as it seeps through to underground freshwater aquifers. This process is slow, taking about 25 years for the rain water to journey through the mountain to form pools, or lenses, on top of salt water pools.

The added salts and minerals in ocean water makes it denser than fresh water, enabling fresh water to float on top of the salt water. That is why it is much easier to swim, float and tread water in the ocean than in a pool. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply pumps the water from these aquifers and distributes it to communities on Oahu.

I, for one, take a lot of this for granted. Turn on the faucet and out comes fresh, clean, spring-like water. The water from my home’s tap tastes like bottled water, so I rarely buy it unless I am prepping for hurricane season. I hardly give our fresh water a second thought and always expect it to be there. But water is a very precious natural commodity.

The National Science Foundation recognized this and awarded the University of Hawaii a five-year, $20 million grant to study the freshwater aquifers. This grant is part of the foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

(April 2016, Editor Comment: This is a timely and well presented editorial by Senator Gabbard and Rep. Yamane of the problems facing the island’s fresh water future. We applaud the legislature’s 2015 water bills and look forward to the new session’s legislation. The new bills must begin to address both conservation and reuse on the islands to get ahead of future scarcities.)

Honolulu Star Advertiser – March 27, 2016

By: Sen. Mike Gabbard and Rep. Ryan Yamane

Last October, after an unseasonable and unprecedented rainy summer, the U.S. Drought Monitor declared that for the first time since April 15, 2008 no part of our island chain was suffering from drought.

For seven long years, our farmers, ranchers and citizens had endured a prolonged dry period throughout Hawaii that caused cattle herds to be thinned, crops to suffer and spiked our rate of forest fires. Unfortunately, our relief was short-lived.

Today, just five months later, 54 percent of our island area is again locked in “moderate drought” and 100 percent of our islands are “abnormally dry.” As we live through one of the largest El Niño events on record, our islands may get even drier through 2016.

Why is this happening now? Long-term climate change trends seem to be bringing drought to Hawaii more frequently. Over the past 30 years as temperatures have risen, our average annual rainfall amount has fallen by a staggering 22 percent. Our beloved tradewind days have declined by 28 percent — from an average of 291 trade wind days in 1973 to only 210 in 2009. And when we do get rain, increasingly it tends to come in large — even epic — events where several inches may fall in just a few hours, causing stormwater runoff instead of the soft, gentle rains that slowly seep into the soil and our precious island aquifers for later use.

The Legislature understands that water is the lifeblood of our society, and long-term fresh water security is a key element to our economic health and our unique quality of life. Even as we address critical issues such as homelessness and health care this session, we acknowledge the need to work proactively to protect our fresh water supply.

We have watched the sobering experience of California as it suffered through $2.74 billion in damage to its economy in 2015 alone as a result of the ongoing drought and water supply problems — and the clear lesson is that a few ounces of prevention are far better than many tons of cure. We are moving to preserve our supply of the best drinking water in the world with innovative new solutions and policies.
Last year in 2015, the Legislature passed several key bills signed by Gov. David Ige that will help enable water infrastructure upgrades, encourage water recycling at state facilities, and capture stormwater runoff before it enters our oceans.

This legislative session we are building on this foundation with another comprehensive package of fresh water bills that will decrease water system leaks (House Bill 2041); foster public-private partnerships to reuse, conserve and recharge our water (House Bills 2029 and 2040); commit to statewide water reuse and recycling (House Bill 1749); improve storm water retention and capture (House Bill 1750); and provide incentives to residents who adopt water-saving devices in their homes (House Bill 2042).

In concert with these policy changes, the independent, nonprofit Hawai‘i Community Foundation recently released a report from a blue-ribbon commission that said to ensure water security, Hawaii must secure 100 million gallons a day in additional, reliable fresh water supply by 2030 even as less rain falls on our Islands.

We have embraced this challenge and will continue to improve our water policies in ways that move us toward this shared statewide goal.

While these policy changes are an important start, all of us need to work together planting trees, turning off the tap, and — most importantly — teaching our keiki the value of wai in order to truly protect our shared water future.

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — A few yards from the crashing waves of the Pacific, on a precariously narrow strip of land, precious rainwater pools on the runway of the Marshall Islands’ main airport. This is how the government hydrates tens of thousands of its citizens: the rainwater runoff from the airstrip. The water — complete with bird droppings and whatever else has landed on the tarmac — is funneled via pipes to earthen storage reservoirs. From there, it gets filtered and treated and pumped to people down the atoll.

During a normal week the water only flows for 12 hours. In prolonged droughts, which are almost certain to happen in 2016, the reservoirs can get depleted to the last drop. The country can hold on for only a few months without rain. Thirsty Marshallese, many of whom rely on their own much smaller rainwater catchment containers, won’t have anything to drink or wash with. Dehydration, starvation, malnutrition and disease have been known to follow. Crops fail. Sensitive groundwater reservoirs become contaminated.

This is a bleak outlook for a vulnerable country in the remote Pacific, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. The Marshall Islands are a heavenly chain of white sandy beaches and coral reefs, but they are paradoxically one of the most inhospitable and challenging places to build a nation. Climate change will have numerous, complicated effects here. Access to freshwater, already in limited supply on the archipelago, is likely to become the most serious issue.